Unser Chat » and Dodgers is hungry

Thursday night, the Blue Jays not only dropped out of first place in the American League East, they also fell below the threshold of qualifying for either of the two Wild Card spots in the American League. Their 4-1 loss at Oakland to kick off the 10-game road trip coupled with Baltimores 5-2 win at home over Texas put the Jays in secondnd place place in the East, one percentage point back of the Orioles. It also dropped them behind the second and third place teams in the West, the Angels and the Mariners, who now hold those Wild Card slots. With 75 games still to play, its really too early to stress over that, but it did get me thinking about the West. Major League Baseball didnt come to the left coast until 1958 when the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers moved there in tandem to cash in on a new and expanding market. The American League didnt get a west coast club until the league expanded in 1961 adding the Los Angeles Angels and the new Washington Senators, essentially replacing the team that moved to Minnesota. There have been 53 seasons where it was possible for two west coast teams to have met in the World Series, from 1961 through 2013. Over that span there have only been four true western World Series. In 1974, the Oakland As won their third Fall Classic in a row, beating the Dodgers 4 games to 1. In 1988, 14 years later, Orel Hershizer, Kirk Gibson and the rest of the Dodgers upset Oakland 4 games to 1. The following year, 1989 in the infamous "Earthquake" series, the As swept the Giants in four-straight. Finally in 2002, the Angels beat Barry Bonds and the Giants in seven games for their one and only World Series title in their 42nd year of existence. Two teams that have never met in the World Series are the Dodgers and the Angels. Could it possibly happen this year? Well, its not so far-fetched. The Dodgers have won seven of their last 10 and have climbed over the Giants into first in the NL West by a half-game. They also have the second-best record in the National League to Milwaukee. The Dodgers hitting stats are pretty impressive. Theyve scored 367 runs, fourth in the Senior Circuit, but second to Milwaukee in terms of teams holding playoff positions, They are third in team batting average in the National at .257 and third in OPS at .729. But its in the pitching department where they really impress. They are second in pitching ERA to Washington at 3.23. Theyve made 57 quality starts and four of their five starters have won at least eight games. The other, Josh Beckett has five wins and a no-hitter to his credit. The leader of the staff, and the best pitcher in the Majors right now, Clayton Kershaw, has nine victories and a no-hitter, in a near perfect game of his own. They have some flaws and a worrisome shoulder issue with shortstop Hanley Ramirez, but right now, the Dodgers look like the best all-around team in the National League with apologies to the Brewers. Over in the American League, the Angels have won eight of their last 11 and have closed to within three-and-a-half games back of Oakland in the West. They have latched on to that first Wild Card slot. The Halos are second in hitting in the American League behind the As. They have scored 408 runs, four more than the Blue Jays with three games in hand. Theyre also tied with Oakland in home runs with 91. They also have a .749 OPS behind only the Tigers and Blue Jays. The Angels pitching staff isnt as deep as the Dodgers, but their top three starters Jared Weaver, C.J Wilson and Garrett Richards have combined for 26 wins. They are fourth in team ERA in the AL at 3.86 and have made 47 quality starts. Their bullpen has been up and down, but skipper Mike Scioscia is hoping Joe Smith and Jason Grilli, who was just picked up from Pittsburgh, can do the job at closing time. The big plus-factor with both the Angels and Dodgers is hungry ownership. Arte Moreno bought the Angels from Disney in 2003, the year after they won that World Series over the Giants, They havent been back to the Fall Classic under his stewardship. The Dodgers ownership group, which includes Magic Johnson, bought the club in 2012 for a record $2 billion. They are determined to win a championship, something the Dodgers havent done since 1988. The Angels, who have played out of Orange County for the bulk of their existence have nearly always played second fiddle to the Dodgers in the L.A. market. The Dodgers hold the single game attendance record of 115,300, when they played their season opener at the old Memorial Coliseum as part of a charity fund-raising event. But the Angels are no slouches in the attendance department either. Last year marked their 11th-straight season of drawing at least 3 million fans. They have also had 30 seasons of drawing 2 million, which is second in Major League history to only the mighty Yankees. We havent had a so-called "Cross-town" World Series since 2000, when the Yankees beat the Mets in the battle of New York. The White Sox and Cubs havent done it since 1906, when the " no-hit wonder " White Sox defeated the Cubs. These kinds of match-ups are few and far between.They used to be commonplace in the early 20s and late 40s and throughout the 50s, when the Yankees, Dodgers and Giants all held sway in New York. Im not saying the Angels and Dodgers are definately going to meet in the World Series, but there is a decent shot, and it would provide some great storylines and some compelling viewing and listening. - The Yankees are a hard team to get a handle on. Theyre sitting at .500 at 42-42 in the A.L. East and theyve lost five more than theyve won at home.Yet for all of that, in Derek Jeters final season, they are still only three-and-a-half games back of the Orioles and Jays in the division. Still, what appears to be the weakest Yankees team in four decades will have to decide soon whether to become a buyer or seller at the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline. The new that C.C Sabathia has been shut down indefinately with a flair up of his swollen knee again, has got to have them thinking about next year and beyond. Still, they are the Yankees and this is Jeters final season. Stay tuned. Kirk Cousins College Jersey .35 million. The right-hander had agreed last February to a deal that pays him $3.775 million this year and allows him to earn an additional $225,000 in bonuses based on games finished. Draymond Green College Jersey . Bryant, who signed a five-year, $34 million contract as a free agent with Cleveland in March, reported symptoms on Monday morning, a team spokesman said. http://www.cheapmichiganstatejerseys.com/ . Warren made six birdies and a bogey for a 5-under total of 139 to sit one shot ahead of Felipe Aguilar of Chile, who carded a 69. David Horsey of England was also on 5 under through 15 holes to join Warren atop the leaderboard before play was stopped. LeVeon Bell College Jersey . Lack made 20 saves for his third shutout of the season as the Canucks blanked the St. Louis Blues 1-0 in the first post-Olympic game for both teams night. Throwback Michigan State Jerseys . “The shootout, theres nothing wrong with it, I think its an exciting part of the game but its just one small aspect,” said Chicago Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman. “Its a skill exhibition. If you can get it back closer to regular hockey and have it decided that way; that would be my preference.” “I dont think its a knock on the shootout, I think more of the managers would like to see it end in overtime,” added Washington Capitals GM George McPhee.TORONTO -- Toronto FC will play a friendly match against its affiliate club, the Wilmington Hammerheads, next month. The Toronto club announced Tuesday that it will play its first ever match against the United Soccer League Pro team Wed., June 18 at Legion Stadium in Wilmington, N.C. "We are very excited to participate in a friendly match with Wilmington during the FIFA World Cup break," said Toronto FC general manager Tim Bezbatchenko. "Wilmington has done a great job thus far in providing our players on loan with everything they need to succeed and grow in a professional environment. "This is another opportunity to strengthen our relationship with our affiliaate club and bring Toronto FC into their market, all while giving our players match minutes during the break.ddddddddddddquot; Toronto FC currently has three players on loan at Wilmington: goalkeeper Quillan Roberts, midfielder Manny Aparicio and forward Jordan Hamilton. The Hammerheads currently sit 10th in USL Pro table with eight points and a record of 2-1-2. The match will not effect league points for either team. "This friendly match is another great benefit of our strong partnership with Toronto," said Wilmington general manager Jason Arnold. "We are excited to host the team and showcase their club to our fans and the City of Wilmington." 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